The present invention relates to a method and device for facilitating the washing of articles, such as clothes, dishes, etc. by ionizing the water in which the articles are normally washed.
Various physical or non-chemical treatment devices commonly on the market are recognized as having an advantageous effect on water used to wash clothes or dishes and on bathwater. In the case of washing clothes and dishes, this advantageous effect is the apparent softening of the water. However, the total amount of dissolved solids in the water remains unchanged unlike chemical treatment to soften water in which the dissolved solid content is actually removed from the water.
In the case of washing clothes, a large amount of washing detergent or soap powder in the water is required.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,391 by the present inventor discloses a device for ionizing water and which device includes two electrodes having different electrochemical potentials, such as a carbon electrode and an aluminum electrode. The electrodes are electrically isolated from one another such that when water is forced to flow over and past the electrodes, the only electroconductive connection between the electrodes is formed by the water itself which has some degree of electroconductivity. The water is thus ionized due to the electrochemical potential established between the electrodes. Devices such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,391 are typically applied in-line in a water pipeline to effect the treatment of water flowing through the pipeline so as to prevent the occurrence of a scale from being produced on the interior surface of the pipeline or to remove such a scale already formed. Even if such a device were used for water treatment per se, such a device would require the services of a plumber for installation. Further, such devices are relatively costly.